The Story That Shall Remain Nameless Until Further Notice
by Follow Those Owls
Summary: I cannot tell you much. But they went by Beck Oliver and Jade West, and they had a secret. A secret they didn't think was a secret at all, but it was. And what you're about to read should've never been written, let alone read. It's for your own good, my friend.
1. Hcvpasetyrt 1

Hello.

I suppose, seeing as this is the first chapter, I'd normally be telling you the main character's name, or his or her current whereabouts. Maybe what they look like, or perhaps give you a feel for their personality. Possibly sneak in their age.

However, this is not a normal story, and I am not to tell you those things.

But, if I must, I'll tell you what I can.

They go by Jade West, and Beck Oliver. That's not their real names, it's simply what they insist you call them. The people around them don't bother to ask. Any girl can say her name is "Jade West" and get away with it, no questions asked, as long as they don't give you a reason to assume that Jade West is, in fact, a fake name.

We know better.

I can't tell you where they are. But since this a story, and every story needs a setting (you cannot just place characters into a blank world of nothingness, it's uncreative and the whole thing unravels in about 5 minutes), so I guess I can set it wherever I'd like. Beck and Jade would likely not approve, but this is for their own good.

As for their looks, personalities, and ages...

That information you can do without.

Now, you might be wondering a few things.

Why can't I tell you their real names, their current whereabouts, their ages, or basically anything about them?

Why am I writing about them at all?

Who am I? Why do I know this information that can't be disclosed to the general public?

It's quite simple, my friends.

Jade and Beck had a secret, that they thought wasn't a really a secret at all.

But it was.

It was deep and dark, and I'd tell you what it is, I really would, but then you'd have to put a stop to it. It would rely solely on you to put an end to the series of events that have already followed because of this secret, and prevent any thing more from happening because of it.

Are you really ready for all that responsibility?

Well, alright, but bear in mind - what I'm about to write wasn't meant to be read. It _shouldn't_ be read.

Are you really sure you want to read it?

I'll give you time to think.

Yes?

Okay then, it's your funeral.

It started in a town that you've never heard of that has faded into the background of society. I mustn't tell you what the town is called, but I can promise you this - it's one you definitely know nothing about. Name it whatever you want. Call it "Gummy Bear Landia" for I all care.

Anyway, in this town lived the girl who goes by Jade West. She wasn't just a misfit - she was _the_ misfit. She was a bit morbid and very dark. That's all I can really tell you about her. That, and that most people in The Nameless Town are frightened of her.

She had a single friend. I'm not exactly sure if I can tell you her name, They did not specify. I'll assume I can't. They, by the way, are not Jade or Beck or this other girl. They are a completely different group of people, the ones that won't allow me to tell you anything about our heroes. You've seen Them before, I bet. If you must, acquire a first edition copy of Where's Wally (the original, English Where's Waldo), and flip to page 8. Look for a bald man with a pinstripe suit on. He's one of Them.

What was I talking about?

Oh yes, this girl. We'll call her Cat.

Cat was sweet and nice and just a tad ditzy. She would often wonder things aloud, such as "If it snowed and then it was sunny, would it make a snowbow?"

Cat liked to explore. She insisted that she and Jade look up in her grandmother's attic for "fun, elderly people things". Although Jade had not thought it would be much fun, she had gone anyway.

If they had stayed at Cat's house and simply watched the first two Home Alone movies as planned, things would not had gone the way they did. The girls would not have found what they did, or meet Beck, or know The Secret. And you wouldn't be reading about it.

But it's already too late - if you're reading this, that is.


	2. Hcvpasetyrt 2

_You're back?_

I can't say I haven't been expecting you. It's simply human nature - when someone says they have a secret, especially one that could change the world as we know it like Jade's, you want to hear it. Secrets are like raw onions - a food I've noticed is not very well liked, but I enjoy very much, although if you do not have mouthwash on hand after eating one, people will typically avoid you and your halitosis until you do. Any who, secrets are like onions because of the layers. First, when you learn there is one, that is like the onion's thin skin. And then, as you learn more, peeling back the layers of the onion, if you will, there's less and less to learn until you get the last layer, where all is revealed.

Where was I in the story? The attic in the town you've never heard of, yes?

Alright.

Jade and Cat were up in Cat's grandmother's attic, which Jade was not exactly enjoying.

"All that's up here is ugly hats and stupid old books," she grumbled.

Cat popped her head out of the trunk she was exploring. "No, there are dress-up things in here!" she said, with a childlike innocence.

Jade rolled her eyes and looked at one of the bookshelves, full of books. Most were old volumes of Nancy Drew - a wonderful book series with an, in my opinion, less than fabulous movie made about 20 years after the books went out of print. However, one book on the shelf caught Sc-er, _Jade's_ attention. The book was remarkably small. It could fit in the palm of your hand (think the miniature, red, hard-back editions of Maurice Sendak's books) and was a deep gray. There was no title on the spine.

Jade pulled the book of the shelf and flipped to the back for a synopsis. None was given. Defeated, she opened the book, turned to the first page, and was promptly annoyed.

"Cat! Why does your grandmother have a tiny book that's written in gibberish?" Jade asked.

Cat popped out of the trunk again, wearing a dusty old feather boa and a floppy hat. "Whatty?"

Jade held out the book to her. This is what the first page said:

"Ebnofgert oyuu ertdas htysio, lpaaeresd atyekl onmety fop htyer afgcty htytas htyer obnkop oyur'uier ohjdlzniogh ocvtnmiassnm noper fop htyer omqtsd adfgnmreruopsd esdrcvtersd verrer. Oyuv'uier ebnner awenrtder."

Cat's eyes scanned the words. "Maybe it's a secret language!"

But it was not a secret language, nor was it simply gibberish. It was a carefully calculated code.

I know the code - I can read that message clear as day. However, most people would overlook it - dismiss it as gibberish, like Jade.

Jade flipped to the next page. On it was a single sentence.

"Hpalyuilosd Avbnerityenm nasdf Herty Ocvnuiiclz fop FPGFFGFFGTY (k.a.s.a.s. herty CTYP) ebnilzverer htyyer ahsev ofgnuidf as aweyu oty utynrt Tsdnas niooty as owelrtldfyu ebnniogh."

Jade dismissed this as well - more gibberish.

Upon turning to the page, she noticed that the next page had a single word on it, but it was in English : "And".

She turned the page hastily.

"Now"

Jade's eye widened. The words were spelling a sentence. Each page had only one word:

"That".

"You."

"Know,".

"It's".

"Up".

"To".

"You".

"To".

"Stop".

"It".

Cat cocked her head. "Stop what?"

Jade shook her head - she had no idea.

Nothing interesting happened the rest of the day. Jade tossed the peculiar book across the room, insisting that Cat's grandmother just kept weird books, and then convinced her to go downstairs and watch the Home Alone movies, as originally planned, in exchange for the promise that she would make the microwave popcorn and let Cat choose the toppings for it. The truth was that Jade was unnerved by the the strange book - and so she should've been.

* * *

I believe that the very next day was when the first letter with the upside-down stamp arrived.


	3. Hcvpasetyrt 3

Hello, again.

It looks to be that people seem to think that I've taken this idea from someone else. Well, I can assure you there will be no emergency drills, Time Traveling Chocolate, Do-It-Yourself Endings, or anything like that - but there is a secret, like there is a secret in every good story (although Time Traveling Chocolate does sound quite fun.) Rejoice in the fact that although the writing style is similar, the events are about to take a very dark turn. Bear with me.

(The idea for this particular story actually came from Lemony Snicket's novels, anyway.)

If you can't handle that, please X-out this window and back away about ten feet from the computer. Then come back and watch some Potter Puppet Pals on YouTube. I like the Neville's Birthday episode.

Thank you.

* * *

Ah, the letters with the upside down stamps. I do love this part.

Jade was at her own house, in her kitchen, eating a poptart. She was eating the cinnamon kind, if you're wondering, when there was a knock on the door. I know what you're thinking - letters usually are not accompanied by a knock on the door.

Well, ordinary letters aren't.

Jade did not bother to get up from the table, and her mother got the door.

"Jade! Someone left a letter for you on the doorstep..." She called.

Jade walked over to her mother out of curiosity, and, sure enough, the letter was addressed simply to "Jade", with no address or zip code or a return address or anything. All that was on the envelope was an ink stain, Jade's name, and a Homer Simpson stamp turned upside down and in the wrong corner.

"I don't know what this is about, Mom," Jade said - and that was the truth.

"Well, open it!" Her mother insisted.

Jade shook her head and took it to her room, not wanting to open this bizarre letter in front of her mom,

She tore open the envelope, and inside was an ink-splattered piece of paper that was an entire paragraph written in the very same code from the book the day before. Jade rolled her eyes - now she had NO idea what this idiot wanted.

At the bottom the paper, it said:

_"Acvnm oyuui ertdas htysio? Fio onmty, utynrt htyer apaepart voprer."_

_(Can you read this? If not, please turn the paper over)_

Jade's eyes widened. The gibberish actually _meant_ something. After all - whoever had written it had been able to provide a translation, albeit for only a sentence.

Jade hastily turned the paper over, and - hallelujah! - it was written in English.

It said:

"_Jade -_

_You don't me, at least not yet, so I'll guess I have to introduce myself. My name is Beck Oliver, and I know what you did._

_You read The Book of Possible Future Fiascos For Fighters Following Tarmory. You might not THINK, you did, but does 'Hpalyuilosd Avbnerityenm nasdf Herty Ocvnuiiclz fop FPGFFGFFGTY (k.a.s.a.s. herty CTYP) ebnilzverer htyyer ahsev ofgnuidf as aweyu oty utynrt Tsdnas niooty as owelrtldfyu ebnniogh' ring any bells? Yes? Good - it should._

_You probably have no idea what it says, but it isn't gibberish. It's one of the most dangerous secrets in existence, and since you have to actually know what it says (considering now They assume you can read Tarmorish, you're going to have to know) THIS is how the code (a.k.a Tarmorish) works:_

_You take any word, for example, "four" and separate the letters into pairs. Here, it would be "fo ur". Then you reverse the pairs, so it would be "of ru". Next, you look at the letter to the right of the second letter in each pair on an American QWERTY keyboard, and put that next, so it would be "ofg rui". Then you put the whole word together, so "four" becomes "ofgrui" in Tarmorish._

_For odd numbered words like "dog", you do the pairs the same as with even numbered words ("do" becomes "odf" and then you just taken the remaining letter and put the letter to the right of it on the keyboard next to it with no reverse. So, "g" becomes "gh". Then you put the whole word together again - "odfgh"._

_It sounds very complicated, but go ahead and try to translate the original message - "Hpalyuilosd Avbnerityenm nasdf Herty Ocvnuiiclz fop FPGFFGFFGTY (k.a.s.a.s. herty CTYP) ebnilzverer htyyer ahsev ofgnuidf as aweyu oty utynrt Tsdnas niooty as owelrtldfyu ebnniogh."_

Jade reread the letter twice. What the heck? What kind of code was that? Obviously, it wasn't ancient - it involved American QWERTY keyboards.

She continued to read the rest of the letter:

_"I'll send another letter along tomorrow, but please - try and decode the message, for your own good._

_- Beck"._


	4. Hcvpasetyrt 4

Oh dear.

It appears that some of you have taken such an interest in Tarmorish that you took the code provided and attempted to decode the message yourselves. One of you, who told me the translation you came up with, was very close. And that's what worries me.

Do you realize the peril you've placed yourself in?

I suppose you do – I gave you a warning in the first chapter. I even informed you in the last chapter that if you cannot handle dark secrets and danger, to please stop reading right there. And yet, here you are. I blame myself; for telling you this story, for publishing Beck's letter that tells you how to crack the code – heck, the chapter titles are written in Tarmorish!

I cannot say that your bravery isn't an admirable quality.

* * *

Letter in hand, Jade drove over to Cat's house as fast as possible. It was her grandmother's book that had had the message. Obviously she had to have a bit of information.

She pounded on Cat's door, only to be greeted by her bizarre brother, Jackson. (Not his real name. I'm assuming you know the drill by now.)

Jade cursed under her breath. It would be her luck that Jackson answered the door. It reminds me so much of my own luck – if anybody is going to spill something, step in something, or slip in something, you can bet it would be me. Not exactly a good quality when you've been trusted with a secret that make the world fall apart at its seams, but it is what it is.

"CAT! THE SCARY GIRL'S HERE!" he yelled. Then he poked Jade's arm a couple times. "I still can't believe you're real."

Jackson _always_ said this when Jade came over, and never bothered to explain.

Cat ambled into view. A light pink bow was in her hair.

"Hi, Jade!" she said excitedly.

Jade pushed by Jackson. "Read this!" she demanded, shoving the letter into Cat's hands.

"Why is Homer Simpson upside down on the envelope?"

"I don't know! Just read it!" At this point, Jackson had wondered off, which Jade was grateful for. He didn't need to be dragged into this.

Once Cat was done with the letter, she bombarded Jade with questions – who was Beck? What's Tarmorish? What is The Book of Possible Fiascos For Fighters Following Tarmory? Jade told Cat she didn't know, but they could decode the message now, together.

"Yay! We're hanging out togeth-"  
"NO!"  
"Poo."

They pulled out a few sheets of paper and pens. First, Jade wrote the original message on the top of one paper, but then Cat interrupted her.  
"Wait!" Cat darted up to her room and returned a moment later with an envelope. "I got a letter too!"

Jade took it from her, and noticed that Cat's letter also had an upside down stamp in the wrong corner – but hers was the Statue of Liberty. She pulled out another sheet of paper, exactly like her own, and it said:

_"Hello, Cat –_

_Please tell Jade that there is one exception to the rule. "Herty" can mean "the". The actual spelling is "htyer", but both are used. I'm not sure why.  
_

_She'll understand.  
_

_Thanks,  
Beck"._

"Alright, this will make it a little easier."

And they began to decode.

* * *

It took quite a while for them to decode; half the time, the words they ended up with didn't even make sense. If you tried to decode the message already, you probably ran into this problem, considering you didn't know the rule about "the" and the message has the "herty" spelling.

But, finally, "Hpalyuilosd Avbnerityenm nasdf Herty Ocvnuiiclz fop FPGFFGFFGTY (k.a.s.a.s. herty CTYP) ebnilzverer htyyer ahsev ofgnuidf as aweyu oty utynrt Tsdnas niooty as owelrtldfyu ebnniogh" was translated into English, and this is what it means:

(Now, I'm going to tell you The Secret _in English._ If you can read English - which I assume you can because you've read this much already - you'll be able to understand it perfectly. Are you sure you want that?

Really?

How 'bout I give everyone who wants to a chance to turn the computer off right now?

Alright, you have to the count of three.

1…  
2…  
3…

Nobody?

We've got a bunch of Vikings, huh?

Once again, your bravery is admirable. Blind, but admirable.)

"Phyllis Valentine and The Council of PFFFFFT (a.k.a the TCP) believe they have found a way to turn Stan into a worldly being."

Jade stared at the paper.

"What the heck does that mean? Who's Phyllis? What is The Council of PFFFFFT? Who – or what, I guess – is Stan? Why does Stan need to be turned into a "worldly being"? What does that even mean, anyway?" she grumbled.

Knowing The Secret obviously just made there be more questions that need answers. However, if it helps, "PFFFFFT" is pronounced by sticking your tongue out and buzzing your lips. If you've ever seen the children's show Spongebob Squarepants (which, despite being nonsensical, is quite entertaining), you may have seen the episode where the protagonist gets stuck in a strange town called "Rock Bottom" whose residents all speak by making that noise in-between each word. If you did not do this, they would insist that they couldn't understand your "accent". This sound is exactly how "PFFFFFT" is pronounced.

Useless information, I know.

"Oooh!" Cat squealed. "Phyllis Valentine is my grandma!"

"The grandma whose attic we found that book in?"

"Yeah!"

Jade grabbed Cat's wrist, all the letters, and her car keys, and scrambled out the door.  
If anyone understood this, it _had_ to be Cat's grandma.


	5. Hcvpasetyrt 5

I can no longer warn you not to read on.

Now you KNOW what The Secret is, and there's no point to it. At this point, you might as well keep reading for information on how to prepare yourself, should The Council of PFFFFFT figure out that you know what they're up to.

Of course, you probably _don't_ know. Your questions make perfect sense.

It will all be answered in time, my friend.

* * *

Jade followed the directions Cat gave her (even though Cat turned out to be a terrible backseat driver) to a large house with weeping willows surrounding it. They got out of the car and approached the house.

The tall, graveyard-esque gate was unlocked. As the girls stepped inside, they were a little creeped out - even Cat, who had been there countless times, seemed uneasy.

What creeped them out were the statues.

Would it spoil to much of the story if I tell you these statues change literally all the time? You'll never see one look the same way ever again. This allows me to describe them in detail the way they were then.

Each one was made of chipped, cracked concrete, and they were all people, but that's where the similarities ended. One had only one arm, the other lying next to her disturbingly. Another was fashioned to look as if her eyelids had been sewn shut. There was one with a broken neck, his head lying morosely on his shoulder, barely connected.

And before someone asks, no, they are not like the Weeping Angels from the television show Doctor Who. _These_ statues make the Weeping Angels look weak, when you learn what they can do.

Only one statue wasn't grossly injured, and that was the one in the middle of the pack. He stood like a solider and was smirking. There was another thing special about him, too - he was the only painted one.

He wasn't completely painted; the only thing painted were his eyes. They were an unsettling shade of yellow, and seemed to watch every move.

(Again, is it revealing too much if I told you they _did_?)

"Cat? What the heck is up with the statues?" Jade asked.

Cat shrugged. "I don't know. They looked different last time. They all have names, too, wanna see?"

"They have _names_?"

And they did. Attached to each one's base, there was a small plaque.

Jade bent down to see the one with the broken neck's name.

It was not written in English - what did you expect? - and it said:

E**h**jdnmirtkcv.

"You're kidding me. Their _names_ are in that stupid language, too?" Jade grumbled.

"Maybe his name is just Ehjdnmirtkcv," Cat suggested.

Jade rolled her eyes.

"Don't you think it's a little weird that the H is darker?"

Cat shrugged. "Let me look at this one," she said, pointing to the one next to Ehjdnmirtkcv.

This one was a lady whose entire left side of her face was shattered. Her plaque read:

L**e**rsiobasterhj.

Jade thought of something - the second letter in each statue's name in the first row was carved in darker. The rest of the statues didn't have any special letters.

She quickly went to each statue in the line and realized that they were spelling something.

H.

E.

L.

P.

U.

S.

"They need our help?" Cat asked, confused.

Suddenly, a scrap of paper fell to the ground out of nowhere. The girls looked up, but there was no one there, not even a bird.

Jade picked up the paper skeptically.

This one was a letter as well, but not from Beck. It was written in English, but didn't make any sense:

_We statues. used be People learned Secret, came And it your You to her. us, yourselves. of you to one us. of be want course, Unless, For For stop need turn. is now here. who The who We aren't _

_(Things always look strange until you look at them from the outside in.)_

"What the heck is this? It doesn't use proper capitalization or punctuation or anything, and it makes no sense! And what's with the note on the bottom?"

This note was written in another code, and the clue to solving it was in the note at the bottom.

Who wrote it, though? Statues can't write.

Can they?


	6. Hcvpasetyrt 6

I'm going to tell you a different story.

This story is about Homeless Man, who is a superhero. He has the power to _think_ that he can fly and lives on a nondescript street in Detroit – nowhere you'd notice unless your car broke down there or something.

Except he's homeless, so he just chills in a refrigerator box all day.

Get it? Chills? Refrigerator?

…You probably don't care.

You probably just want to hear about Cat and Jade and the statues. You probably have questions. Who is Beck? What's up with the upside down stamps? Who's Stan? The statues _move?_

You're probably getting annoyed I'm not answering you.

However, I'm fully convinced that, if you turn back right now, then you can get out of this. If you close this tab right this moment – maybe restart your computer for good measure – you'd be able to go on with your life.

I've told you so many times: you're going to have to stop this.

I've given you plenty of time to reconsider.

But, right here – this chapter – is it.

You keep reading, it's up to you to stop it.

Because I'm not going to be here forever.

They're going to catch on to what I'm doing, and when They do, it'll be all over for me.

I haven't got much time left.

The purpose for me telling you this is that the fate of the world is going to rest in your hands when I'm gone.

You have to be brave.

You can't back out once you've stepped in.

There's going to be a faint line under this paragraph.

That's where the line in the sand will be drawn – you cross it, you keep reading, it's your responsibility.

Take this seriously.

* * *

At the exact moment Jade began complaining about there being yet another silly code, a beat-up, blue pickup truck pulled into the driveway.

No, this WAS NOT Cat's grandmother. At the time, Cat's grandmother was on holiday in Venezuela.

(She's not there anymore, so don't look for her.)

The person who rushed out of the car was a boy, and this boy was Beck.

He literally ran across the creepy lawn to the girls, in a panic.

"OH GOD, is it the nineteenth?" he said, looking on the verge of a mental breakdown.

"Who are you?" Jade asked skeptically

"Does it _matter? _We're in danger! The entire world is in danger! Tell me, is it the nineteenth?!"

"Yep!" Cat said cheerfully, oblivious to his panic.

"OH GOD!" Beck repeated.

"What is wrong with you?" Jade asked, annoyed at his freak-out.

"The statue's eyes are YELLOW, that's what's wrong! Stan's coming. They've done it. There's no way we can stop it. Now we have to fight him off!"

"WOAH, WOAH, WOAH. Who is _we? _We don't even know you!" Jade exclaimed.

"Oh, right. Pleased to meet you, I'm Beck," he said, offering both girls a sweaty hand.

"You sent the letters!" Cat cried.

"Yes, indeed, I did. And I'm here to tell you what's going on."

Beck motioned them to sit on a hard, stone bench in the middle of the statue garden. It's nowhere you'd want to sit. It's cold, crawling with bacteria, and in the middle of a garden of morose statues. But the girls followed and sat with him.

"Which one of you is related to Phyllis Valentine?" he asked.

Cat raised her hand quickly, as if she was in school. "She's my grandma!"

"Yeah, and she's also the leader of The Council of PFFFFFT," Beck said, grimly.

"WHAT IS THE COUNCIL OF PFFFFFT?!" Jade asked frustratedly, throwing her hands up in the air.

(I imagine some of you are reacting the same way.)

"The Council of Possible Future Fiascos For Fighters Following Tarmory. Tarmory is a religion of sorts, and an extremely dark one. However, everyone on The Other Side knows Tarmorish, even if they aren't part of that religion. It's necessary; how else are we supposed to avoid exposure to the Argagles?" Beck said matter-of-factly.

"Okay, first of all, what the heck is The Other Side?" Jade asked.

"All the people who know about The Council of PFFFFFT. Think of it as another world hiding inside this one."

"Second of all, what on e_arth _is an Argagle?"

"An Argagle is the normal people, the ones who know nothing about this. You and Cat were Argagles before you read the book."

"And what is wrong with the nineteenth and the statues?"

Beck's face resumed its look of panic. "I FORGOT! IT'S THE NINETEETH!"

Cat leaned over to Jade. "He's scaring me," she whispered.

"They gave you the letter, right? The letter about looking at things from the outside in?"

Jade handed him the letter. He examined it. "They're saying they used to be people who came here and knew the secret, and now you have to stop them, unless you want to become one!"

"What? Where does it say that?" Jade asked.

"You have to read each word starting on the first and last word and alternating back and forth until you work your way in to read it. Of course, some of the words are scrambled or missing because even the statues have problems writing in this code. It's pretty difficult."

I'm assuming you're still confused.

We'll excuse the statues' mistakes and I'll write something clearly in this code.

Take this sentence: _On the way to the park, we saw Linda._

You would start with _on._ On remains the first word. However, you would put _way _in-between _on _and _the, _so it looked like this: _On way the._

Now read it, starting with the outside and working in. This means you would read _on _first, followed by _the, _and then _way._

If we were to continue putting that sentence into code, when we got to _park, _we would leave the comma after it, regardless of its placement when it is coded. This makes it easier for the reader to decode.

(Quite complicated, I know.)

"I have a question!" Cat said suddenly. Beck looked at her.

"Who is Stan?"

Beck visibly shuddered.

"The devil."

(Bet you weren't expecting that one.)


	7. Hcvpasetyrt 7

I'm glaring at you. You're lucky you can't see me, because if looks could kill, you'd be dead on the floor.

You just had to keep reading, and now you can't get out.

Can't stop now.

For those of who tried to decode last chapter's little puzzle (Good gosh, this is like a newspaper), the proper way to code the sentence _On the way to the park, we saw Linda_ would be:

On way the we Linda. saw park, to the

Why do the statues feel the need to right this way? Easy. When you're a statue, you can't really just write a note proclaiming that you used to be a person. What if They get a hold of it? Or, God forbid, Stan picks it up?

Ah, yes. Stan. The devil. What an uplifting addition to this tale. And yes, the Council of PFFFFFT found a way to turn him into a worldly being. Worldly being meaning something on earth.

I can't tell you when this story is set. There were cars, so obviously it could've have taken place in 1678 or some obscure time period like that, but for all you know it took place in the 1960's. Maybe this happened in 1985 or 1996. Maybe it happened in 1973. Or, perhaps, this story is going on right now, as in, I'm just reporting events as they happen.

Basically, Stan being a worldly being means that at one time or another, the Devil himself walked this earth. Maybe you even talked to him. Perhaps he was the jerk in your mother's 9th grade English class. For all you know, he could've been that one close friend you had in the second grade who moved away.

He was posing as a human, and not a single Argagle knows about it. Check any textbook, any encyclopedia. The only ones who know are those from The Other Side like Beck and Cat's grandmother, and good luck trying to find one of them. Because believe it or not, they're still out there. It doesn't matter when this took place; the members of The Other Side will always and have always been around, and they're extremely good at hiding their true identity. We're controlled by Them, which is why none of us ever say anything about The Other Side.

Who are They, you might ask. If this is such a big secret, why are you telling me, you might inquire.

Good question.

* * *

"What?!" Jade screeched. "The DEVIL?!"

(Note: Screaming "The Devil" at the top of your lungs in public is not a good idea.)

Beck nodded. "They made him into a person! Well, not really, he's only posing as a person. He could be anyone! He could be any person on earth!"

Cat looked puzzled for a moment. "What's so important about the nineteenth?"

Beck opened his mouth widely, as if he was about to scream, but Jade cut him off. "If you dare say 'OH GOD, IT'S THE NINETEENTH' again, I will actually kill you."

Beck fanned himself with his hands. "You don't get it. The nineteenth. They've been planning this for years. Cat, where is your grandmother?" he asked.

"She's on vacation in Venezuela!"

I believe I told you this exact same thing in the last chapter. I said she's "on holiday" in Venezuela. While she truly was there, I may have been lying about what she was doing.

Beck looked like he was trying to hold in a shriek. "And when did she leave?"

"Last night. She called us and told us that she arrived a few hours ago."

"I thought we would have time to stop her! This is not good! The Council of PFFFFFT Headquarters are there. They're doing it TODAY. They're bringing Stan here TODAY. 7 o'clock PM. And it's," he paused to check his watch, "11 AM now. We only have 8 hours! We need plane tickets. Let's go!" Beck says, jumping up.

Jade raised an eyebrow. "We just met you, you threw some information at us about the devil and moving statues, and now you want us to just hop on a plane to another country with you?"

"You be cray," Cat said flatly. Jade snickered.

"It's important! C'mon, man! Please! We'll be back here in less than," he paused again to calculate, "18 hours."

Jade and Cat stared at him blankly.

Beck half-smiled and looked at Cat. "I'll buy you Bibble on the way to the airport."

Cat's eyes lit up. She grabbed onto Jade's arm. "Please, Jade?"

(Cat's obsession with a candy called Bibble knows no limitations.)

Jade's eyes narrowed. "How did you know that Cat likes Bibble?"

"I know all about you and Cat. I'll tell you about myself in the car, but for now, we must be going!" Beck pulled his car keys out of his pocket.

(A spot of clarification: You may actually know Beck, or someone like him. He doesn't really possess a personality, or so it seems. Then something big happens and his real personality leaks all over the place.)

"How are you even going to get airplane tickets?" Jade asked, still not entirely on board with the plan.

Beck pulled 3 round-trip tickets out of his other pocket. When Jade glared at him, he shrugged innocently. "What? I plan ahead."

And they got into the blue pickup truck.

* * *

Was it silly of the girls to just get into the car with Beck? Maybe. There's something about him, something that you could only understand if you met him. He radiates cautiousness and safety. It's nearly impossible to be threatened by him. It'd be like being scared of a friend's pet rabbit.

(And yes, Beck made good on his promise and picked up some Bibble for Cat on the way to the airport from a small, mom-and-pop candy store. He also grabbed some black licorice for himself and got Jade a clear plastic bag with one piece of candy from every one of those machines that you pull and fill up those bags and pay by the pound. He insisted that he didn't know what she liked, so he got her everything.)

Do you really want me to describe their airport visit? Really? It's quite boring. If you've ever been to an airport you know the drill. If you haven't, consider yourself lucky. The little group's trip to the airport was like anyone else's. I'll just skip along to when they actually boarded the plane.

The trio barely made it onto their plane on time and almost missed their flight entirely. They were all sitting together, much to Jade's dismay, as she still didn't trust Beck. ("He so could've poisoned the candy.")

"You never told me about yourself," Jade said, staring straight ahead instead of at Beck. She wasn't exactly ignoring him; it was just that his teeth had been turned black by the licorice and it was pretty gross to look at.

"Ahh, yes," he said, and then thought for a moment. "I enjoy black licorice."

Jade wrinkled her nose. "I've noticed."

There was a pause.

"Anything else?"

Beck thought about it again. "I can kill a person 700 different ways. And that's just with my bare hands."

He said it as if it were nothing, and continued munching on his candy, mooching a Swedish Fish from Jade's bag.

Of course, a flight attendant had overheard him and turned around to look at him. He offered a tight-lipped smile and a friendly wave.

"Good going, watch as she hastily adds you to the suspicious flier list."


End file.
